What’s driving the popularity of car-parking lifts in Mumbai, and the dangers involved

What are car-parking lifts? Why are they being installed by developers?

Car-parking lifts are hydraulic platforms that use vertical lifting mechanisms to maximise parking space. Instead of parking cars horizontally, a car-parking lift stacks vehicles vertically, allowing more cars to be accommodated in a smaller space. In Mumbai, several new buildings have these since there is a dearth of available open land parcels where horizontal parking could be built. Therefore, to provide maximum benefit to flat owners within a minimum floor space index (FSI), real estate developers are opting for vertical parking facilities to maximise space usage.

Apart from private developers, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is also opting for multi-level public parking facilities. In February this year, the BMC started constructing such a facility at Hutatma Chowk (Flora Fountain) in south Mumbai. When complete, it will be able to accommodate 194 vehicles at a time. A similar facility is also planned in Worli, where 640 four-wheelers and 112 two-wheelers could be parked once ready.

What is the process of installing these lifts?

In 2012, the BMC first published a set of guidelines regarding the installation of such parking facilities.

“Looking into the growing numbers in car ownership, it is pertinent to note that there is hardly any vacant land available for the development of buildings, and there are inherent planning constraints. Therefore… various types of mechanised parking systems like – mechanical stack parking, robo parking, pit type parking, and rotary type parking are proposed,” read the 2012 guidelines of the civic body.

According to the guidelines, the proposal of the installation of car-parking lifts in any new project is first included in the original blueprint of the building – specifying the overall system and how the lifts are going to operate. Following this, the plan has to be approved by the BMC’s Development Plan department (DP) as well as the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). After the construction of the lift is completed, MFB officials will visit the site and carry out an inspection of the newly installed lifts and, based on their inspection, a no-objection certificate (NOC) will be issued to the developer.

“During the process of inspection, several aspects like the dimensions of the platforms and the hydraulic levers are checked. We also check safety measures like whether there is an emergency stop button in place and if the lifts are moving too fast. If we find any discrepancies then we direct the developer to rectify them by providing a written set of observations. And after the retrofitting is done, we again carry out an inspection and issue a clearance certificate to them, provided the facility operates without any hiccups,” a fire official said.

Expert speak

Speaking to The Indian Express, Hemant Parab, former chief fire officer (CFO) of the MFB and now an independent fire and safety consultant, said that, unlike the building elevators which need to be routinely inspected by an annual maintenance contractor (AMC), no such rules are in place for vehicle lifts.

“In a normal elevator, the state government’s lift inspector gives a clearance certificate following their inspection. The rules also mandate an AMC… these kinds of stringent rules are missing when it comes to parking lifts whose responsibility for maintenance lies solely with the building management or the developer,” Parab added.

MFB officials said that due to the absence of stringent rules, in many cases, the management of a building doesn’t carry out routine inspections, resulting in accidents and mishaps.

“The May 31 incident took place while the lift was being installed. These days, parking lifts have become a popular choice in new residential buildings; therefore, there needs to be a set of safety guidelines in place, just like there is for elevators, because both entities are entrusted with the job of lifting heavy payload,” said an MFB official.